EMACIATION AND ENTERITIS OF COTTONTAIL RABBITS INFECTED WITH Hasstilesia tricolor AND OBSERVATIONS ON A FLUKE TO FLUKE ATTACHMENT PHENOMENON

¹ Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, U.S.A.

Emaciation and enteritis of the small intestine were observed in three cottontail rabbits, Sylvilagus floridanus, which had died shortly after their capture from the wild and introduction into outdoor enclosures. These symptoms were associated with very heavy infection of intestinal flukes, Hasstilesia tricolor. Histological sections collected from the intestine of one rabbit revealed extensive villi destruction attributed to the parasite. Attachment of flukes to one another by ventral suckers was also observed. The high prevalence of infection of this parasite in Montgomery County, Virginia, indicates that it may be of local importance as a pathogen causing fatal consequences in its host.